


Diseased

by guileastos



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Hanahaki Disease, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, i love 707 with my LIFE but this angst wrote itself up until the climax LMFAO, mentions of surgery if this is an issue, post-game / After Story so there are extra minor spoilers jsyk, rated Teen for minimal cursing, this is an angstfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 22:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16072802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guileastos/pseuds/guileastos
Summary: "This is all my fault and I drove her away and I don’t even know what I did but it’s all my fault and I—" He covered his mouth and coughed relentlessly. Eventually, Saeyoung resorted to simply using the chatroom in lieu of speaking after a while. "I won’t be around for much longer anyway."





	Diseased

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for any mistakes in this ! i read my own works over and over and over but i only catch so much until like the 41st round in so forgive me as i'll keep going back to fix it. i was just so inspired to write this ( until the ending, FORGIVE ME ) that it basically wrote itself until the climax, hahahaha.  
> i hope you enjoy it !

He thought his life was just beginning.

Though he was already an adult, Saeyoung Choi truly believed his life could not get any better than this. The woman he loved, loved him back. They were together, engaged. His brother, Saeran Choi, saved and protected by the two of them. The three of them often traveling, though all of Saeyoung’s savings from his previous job held steadfast as he bought them all a small house to start with and handled everything else in between. Even Vanderwood held a small, private section of the home to himself, surprisingly enough deciding to stay and watch over them—or specifically “to make sure Seven doesn’t do something really stupid…and maybe help you guys clean,” he said. Saeyoung was so happy and content.

Or so he thought.

He had started taking various online jobs that were simple enough for him to do while needing to lay low. He worked well enough and spent the rest of his free time helping his fiancée around the house or even bothering Saeran or Vanderwood.

Thinking back, he’s unsure when everything in his life started spiraling downhill and he became ill, but it all started with an uncomfortable feeling in his chest and bits and pieces of whatever soft red substance he happened to be hacking up in the early mornings.

He was always grateful to the three that he lived with, and everyone else who took the time to check up on him when they had the time. His wife-to-be would sit on the porcelain-tiled floor with him and rub his back in the early hours of the morning. Saeran, while still giving off his vibe of mostly indifference, would leave various thing for Saeyoung around the house like tea in his favorite mug or a new bag of Honey Buddha Chips on his keyboard. Vanderwood would simply clean around him without added fuss and Jumin, Jaehee, Zen, and Yoosung would visit when it was convenient. Or just call him when they could check in.

When he finally decided to visit a doctor, one that was secretive and he could trust from way back in the day, he did his best to deny his newly awarded diagnosis. Because believing it would mean nearly everything he’d done until now meant nothing. Because believing it would mean he couldn’t believe in anything, or anyone, else. Because believing it would mean this was just another beginning—the beginning to his end.

The now full petals of what he would occasionally still expel from his body were now purple in color, but he still refused to believe that whatever he was throwing up was actually what it was. And with mild panic, he wondered just what it was that he recently been fed that could explain this horrible joke.

And maybe he should have seen it coming. Unsure where he, _they_ , went wrong. Surprised that this simple, _ridiculous_ , disease could make his life worse and worse and **DESTROY** everything he worked so hard for. At one point the lines between reality and what he assumed were his nightmares blurred and he just didn’t know what to believe in anymore.

* * *

 

She started becoming distant over the two years they had been together. He reassured her that it was only a minor sickness though he didn’t believe that himself. For what reason she had left him, he was completely unsure of. He thought their relationship was coming along well. But maybe that’s what he wanted to believe. She stopped sitting with him during his daily doses of toilet vomiting after maybe a month. She stopped trying to cook or clean around the house like she usually did with enthusiasm after four months. She stopped smiling at him after six.

She started going out more in secret. When asked, she said she was going to church, to pray for him. He smiled at her gratefully and said she didn’t have to go through the trouble. She smiled one of her now rare smiles and simply answered that she had met someone who seemed to understand what she was going through and helped her cope.

Saeyoung was uncertain how much he could believe and how much he didn’t want to hear regarding that single statement.

He merely rolled out of bed one morning to sit in front of the toilet, closing the door as to not disturb her as usual, before realizing that she was not even beside him that night. Alarmed, he yanked open the door to stare at an empty bed. His guts felt as if they were rearranging themselves from within his body, but he tried to ignore the feeling completely as a sense of dread crept over him in his current state of panic.

Running to Saeran’s and subsequently Vanderwood’s room to frantically probe them for answers they didn’t seem to have, he stopped in the middle of their living room. He had convinced himself that this illness was too much for her to take. That maybe she had just left temporarily to get away from all of his puking. Because if that’s what she wanted, he wanted it too. Is what he kept telling himself as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat and discourage his arms from involuntarily coming up to try and tear his hair out.

 _She’s better off without me_. _I made her do this_. _She found someone better_. _Someone from the church took her away from me because I was her curse_. _This is a repeat of what happened with Saeran because I wasn’t strong enough_. _This is all my fault and I drove her away and I don’t even know what I did but it’s all my fault and I_ —

He covered his mouth and coughed relentlessly before he started to retch handfuls of something soft in the color pink. He continued until he was dry heaving nothing and almost surrounding himself with the dewy material, strewn around him like confetti. He would’ve considered the scene beautiful, he thought wryly, firstly if it wasn’t happening to him, and secondly if only the love of his life would come back and love him again.

He was almost ashamed that he had soundproofed the house both inside and out because nobody heard his bone-chilling cry for help.

* * *

 

After Saeyoung’s “event”—Vanderwood and Saeran unaware of how else to refer to the complete breakdown he had and finding him standing in his self-produced ring of sickening petals, for neither of them knew how long—, they both decided to enlist the help of the remaining RFA members. In shifts they all took turns watching over Saeyoung and keeping him company.

Though he was grateful for the attention and companionship, he could only muster so many jokes and simulated emotion before the sickness became worse, and he had given up. All his friends, whom he considered family as close as Saeran was to him, could only do so much for him and it hurt them almost just as bad to see him in this state as he felt being in it. _Almost_.

Since the day Saeyoung had woken up without her, he had grown flowers. He was unsure why, but it was the only thing that he felt was keeping him grounded at this point. Suspicious towards himself at whether he was doing this because he wanted to know what kind of flowers they were, because they looked nicer in his garden versus coming out of his mouth, or because it was the last memory he technically had of her since she had secretly packed all her things and left him with only a note and their engagement ring sitting in her nightstand drawer…he didn’t know.

The RFA members had also given up on verbal reassurance, because they probably couldn’t quite believe what they were saying either, and quickly resorted to simply being present in Saeyoung’s life. They would normally visit and keep him company in pairs, just because they felt two people were necessary to keep the atmosphere somewhat positive and they wanted to keep each other company since Saeyoung became almost inanimate the longer time went on.

Eventually, Saeyoung resorted to simply using the chatroom in lieu of speaking after a while. Physically and mentally exhausted by everything. He still did his best to at least leave bright and cheerful messages in the chatroom when replying and everything in between, but his intense optimism he normally exuded was definitely lost.

Saeran and Vanderwood were shortly inducted into the RFA’s chatting app to be included in conversations when everyone else was busy and a short update on Saeyoung was necessary. And as Saeyoung folded into himself, the members of the RFA, now including both Saeran and Vanderwood, felt that some extra measures of both comfort and resolution were needed.

* * *

 

 **VAN:** So listen,

 **VAN:** I’ve been talking to the doctor that Seven’s been seeing and

 **VAN:** I have a bunch of things that probably need to be said.

 **Jumin Han:** Do tell, we’re listening.

 **Yoosung** **★:** yeah, tell us! If it’ll help Seven…

 **Jaehee Kang:** If this will help us help Saeyoung, I really believe that we really should listen and assist him at this point.

 **ZEN:** God…

 **ZEN:** is he even doing okay right now?

 **Saeran:** We’re sitting with him right now.

 **Saeran:** But Saeyoung… he’s…

 **VAN:** Coughing,,

 **VAN:** I really have to derail this conversation and get back to the reason at hand and why we’re all here.

 **VAN:** Saeran is looking after him since we already had this talk and agreed on a decision regarding Seven.

 **VAN:** But we’re going to run this by all of you anyway since we both also agreed that you have all known him for a time and that you’re all close and deserve to either be part of the decision or at least hear about it depending on how you feel about it.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Please continue, we’re ready to hear it.

 **VAN:** So,

 **VAN:** I’ll try to stick to main points without going into detail or derailing this conversation once again.

 **VAN:** From the top since Seven is so private and half of us may not know what illness Seven even has,

 **VAN:** he was diagnosed with what is called Hanahaki apparently, please look it up during your own time if you’re unaware

 **VAN:** and we also ask that you never mention it by name in front of Seven since he has also never told us the name or referred to it by name himself and fear it will make him more… nonexistent

 **VAN:** for unknown reasons, this disease chooses a host and infects them, becoming worse and worse until the person infected dies

 **VAN:** if that wasn’t clear: Saeyoung Choi may die

 **Yoosung** **★:** please tell me this gets better and you’re not just telling us this…

 **Yoosung** **★:** we can help him, right!?

 **VAN:** Yes, we can.

 **VAN:** It’s a little extreme, but,

 **VAN:** Both his brother and I have, like I said before, already previously agreed to this decision that we hope you will all also agree on,

 **VAN:** though it is again, extreme.

 **Jumin Han:** With all things considered and jokes aside, Saeyoung is a close friend and this situation deserves all of our attention.

 **Jumin Han:** If this situation requires an extreme solution that will help him, I like to think this is the time to pay him back for all of the business that wasn’t his he stuck his nose into.

 **ZEN:** I agree with the trust fund kid…for once.

 **ZEN:** If Seven really needs our help then we’ll be here to help him.

 **Jaehee Kang:** I agree with this.

 **VAN:** I figure we’ll all end up on the same page one way or another,

 **VAN:** though I hope it’s easier than needing to convince you to agree.

 **VAN:** There is only 1, ONE, proven cure to this that will 100% cure him, help him, and treat this disease.

 **VAN:** Surgical removal.

 **VAN:** This infestation can be surgically removed but the doc told us that Seven has previously refused the surgery.

 **VAN:** Saeran and I have agreed that we will FORCE him into this.

 **VAN:** No matter the circumstance, he won’t agree but we WILL get him sedated and transported

 **VAN:** somehow

 **VAN:** for this procedure.

 **VAN:** The only thing left of 707 at this point is his physical body.

 **VAN:** The doc also mentioned that everything up until now, from the time he came down with the disease as well as whatever is related to it or may have triggered it, should be forgotten after.

 **VAN:** 707 will remember nothing.

 **VAN:** Not the disease, not what caused it, why or that he ever had it…

 **VAN:** and life just goes on I guess.

 **VAN:** So I leave a decision to the four of you on what you want to choose to do,

 **VAN:** and depending on your answer,

 **VAN:** your visiting privileges are revoked as is your friendship with him in both of our eyes.

 **VAN:** Let us know your choice when you can, we have a week at most before we decide to force this.

 **Jumin Han:** You may as well know my decision now.

 **Jumin Han:** Seeing as Saeyoung needs this solution and outcome the most, this is a quick and simple business decision.

 **Jumin Han:** Assistant Kang.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Yes, Mr. Han?

 **Jumin Han:** Please see to it that our private doctors from C &R are aware that in a week they will be on call, handsomely paid, and either assisting with a surgery or performing.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Of course.

 **Jaehee Kang:** And may I add, Vanderwood, that I will be on-board with this decision.

 **Jaehee Kang:** Though I have my own reservations about this entire state of affairs and forcing anyone to do anything that they do not want, I believe this may be the best for Saeyoung’s health and future.

 **Yoosung** **★:** I’m not really sure what all these details and stuffs are about but I’m completely for it if it’ll help Seven and make him happy again!!!

 **Yoosung** **★:** If forgetting this whole ordeal is what basiclaly cures him…

 **Yoosung** **★:** I want to be there for Seven like he always is for us…

 **ZEN:** …

 **ZEN:** While I’d rather not force anything on Seven that he doesn’t want…

 **ZEN:** I still don’t fully understand this or what happened before or anything else either but,

 **ZEN:** Seven doesn’t deserve this. At all.

 **ZEN:** …

 **Jumin Han:** For or against? Though you may have a week give or take to mull over this decision,

 **Jumin Han:** We might as well figure out where we all stand here and now.

 **ZEN:** Ugh, let me get to it myself you pretentious…!

 **ZEN:** YES!!! I’M FOR THIS! ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT!!111

 **Saeran:** Thank you.

 **VAN:** Your decision to help may ultimately be what saves Saeyoung’s life. Thank you.

 **VAN:** …Now if you’ll excuse us,,

 **VAN:** We should…zk,jbdv

 **Yoosung** **★:** ?

 **Jumin Han:** Assistant Kang and I will be arriving later tonight after work for a turn to keep Saeyoung company.

 **Jumin Han:** Please tell him we come bearing gift.

 **Saeran:** aure, thanks! We’re goana fo,,@

 **Jaehee Kang:** Take care of him.

 **Yoosung** **★:** Yeah!! And…I wanna come tonight too.

 **Yoosung** **★:** Sorry, it’s short notice but I really just want to help and be there for now…

 **Yoosung** **★:** I’m gonna pack some stuff to sleep over!!

 **ZEN:** Should we all go then?

 **ZEN:** I’ll pick you up in an hour Yoosung, be ready.

 **Yoosung** **★:** OK! Seven’ll be so surprised!!

* * *

 

Three days passed as the RFA members continually proceeded to watch over Saeyoung. Jumin, Jaehee, and Zen, all returning night after night between work and all the other free time they could afford. Yoosung had decided to take a little time off from school and work to help Vanderwood and Saeran around the house until the week was up.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Saeyoung spoke after much self-deliberation, smiling gently up at the RFA members who had come over five nights in a row to constantly keep him company. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.” _I won’t be around for much longer anyway_.

Yoosung, his heart practically breaking for his longtime friend, threw himself at Saeyoung and wrapped his arms around him. “Seven! Please don’t say that! We know that you’re struggling with this and we want to help you!”

“Saeyoung,” Jumin sighed and rolled up his sleeves. “You…have many things to live for. I pray that you are not thinking what I think that you are, but,” he placed a small box on Yoosung’s shoulder, who was still wrapped around Saeyoung like a child, and Saeyoung reached for the small box with his free hand.

“But, I hope to at least sway your judgement if I can.” Saeyoung flashed the half-smile he was now used to giving to Jumin. “Rest well tonight, you will feel better when you wake up again.”

He nodded, hoping himself that what Jumin said would be true. He would give anything to _feel better_ , if ever again. Five nights ago, when Vanderwood seemed to be busy on his phone and Saeran forcefully kept him company, he went into the kitchen to mix himself his usual drink, a Retox cocktail.

The doctor had suggested any version of vinegar to at least slow down any worsening symptoms, but Saeyoung didn’t seem to care until he opened the refrigerator one day and it was full of vinegar-based food and drink items. His consideration towards his health waning day by day and lacking the basic energy to even argue or replace the items out of pure frustration, he simply ate and drank what the two people he lived with provided.

Though he also questioned the validity of drinking and eating vinegar-based _anything_ constantly, which sounded pretty unholy to him that he even wondered if it was the reason his petal vomit was changing most colors of the rainbow at this point, but he couldn’t care less. At least he still had his PhD. Pepper on the side.

Eventually, he started incorporating whiskey into his vinegar drinks and one day ended up and solidifying his Retox cocktail sans garnish. He would merely stand in front of the kitchen sink and make the drink, spending a few good minutes nursing the drink dully. This routine had remained unchanged since it started until that night, when he choked, dropped his drink, and puked into the sink basin, gripping the counter top until his knuckles turned white.

Saeran, who had been observing him as usual while he continued his routine, became fearful when it went awry and flanked his brother on the left and rubbed his back soothingly.

“Oh god Saeyoung, don’t- please I can’t…” Glancing into the sink, he choked back a sound between a laugh and cry. “Hyung…”

Sniffling, Saeran closed his eyes for a brief second to compose himself as he heard his brother retch one more time. He took a breath in, and then breathed out. Squeezing his eyes shut, he took a chance and opened one eye and absolutely regretted it the second he started opening them.

“VANDERWOOD! STARK! GOD, HELP ME…PLEASE…”

Vanderwood had left his phone on the couch, forgotten after hearing Saeran’s ear-splitting and agonized scream. Barreling into the kitchen, he made it in time to see Saeyoung put his hand down his throat a second time, and rip a fully bloomed flower from under its receptacle out of his mouth.

“Shit! Seven, what—” He rushed over to Saeyoung’s right and peered into the sink. He recognized these flowers as the same ones he grew in the garden, except it was different. As horrible as it was for any of them to admit, the flowers were beautiful. These even more so. While the old ones were solid, vividly colored, these were…different. Other than being a whole flower, it was a muted yellow color, with specs of what looked like red or pink dappled in the center and flared out into the same color dyeing the petal tips.

Saeyoung crushed the flower in his hand, silently weeping over what he knew it meant through his menial over-the-top research of his sickness and decided to see if he could stick his hand so far into himself, he could rip out everything else that was there. Vanderwood, realizing what he was trying to do, gripped both of Saeyoung’s wrists in his hands and looked at Saeran who was clenching his brother’s jacket in his hands.

“Saeran, listen to me. Tell the members we have to go. We’re going to take him to the doctor right now. Be quick.” He listened and nodded quickly as he pulled out his phone to send a quick and mistyped message to the remainder of the group before helping Vanderwood pull Saeyoung into their car and see the doctor once more.

Saeyoung laughed at the memory, wondering when it would end. His throat raw and his voice hoarse, he thanked everyone before prying Yoosung off his body to again look at the box.

“We would actually prefer it if you opened it right now.” Jaehee pushed up her glasses. “Only if you want of course. But we would like to see your reaction and hope that it is positive.” She smiled.

He slowly opened the small box and picked up the note on top before raiding the remaining contents. _Someone awaits your return and will happily see you if only you take care of yourself for future days to come_. The note was signed with an elegant paw print and affixed to the back was a picture of Elizabeth the 3 rd laying cutely in a bed with a ribbon adorning her neck in red. He chuckled drying and reached into the box, pulling out a beautiful collar, designed with rivets and a bow right in the middle. A bell hung in the middle that he shook delicately, enjoying the light sound that it made.

“You will be allowed one visitation with Elizabeth 3rd with the assumption that you will be taking care of yourself as she requests.” Jumin’s voice gracefully heard over the jingling of the bell.

“Thank you.” Saeyoung’s raspy voice echoed in the quiet room filled with people. His face seemly overjoyed over the fact that he would finally get to see his beautiful cat daughter, _finally_ , once again. “I…I want to get better. I just don’t know how and I—”

“Seven,” he looked up at Vanderwood, who had been standing to the side, leaning on the arch in the hallway. “Do you trust all of your friends who gathered here for your sake as well as your brother?”

“I mean, I—”

“Answer the question without avoiding it. Right now.”

He exhaled at Vanderwood’s direct attack towards him.

“Madam Vanderwood…”

“Hey!”

“You’re my friend too…but, I do. I trust all of you. With my life, probably.”

Yoosung crossed his legs in front of him and whined. “Eh, probably!?”

Saeyoung nodded. “Yeah, probably.”

Zen sighed and crossed his arms. “I think that’s good.”

“Probably?”

“Probably.”

Their phones simultaneously pinged with alerts as Saeyoung finished sending a multitude of messages in the chatroom and grinned at everyone when he finished.

 **707:** ya

 **707:** probably

 **707:** you’ve all been with me as long as I can remember and im grateful for everything you’ve done for me up until now and beyond

 **707:** I never expected or thought that I would be where I am now, not even considering this thing which is currently happening to me right now

 **707:** but I do trust all of you, though ill admit im afraid to and even saying it makes me want to take it back

 **707:** but I think at this point,

 **707:** I owe all of you my life and I think I can give you that right now

 **707:** so with that,

 **707:** I trust you. All of you. With my entire life.

 **707:** though im sure none of you will do anything weird with it,

 **707:** I only ask that you treat the rest of my life well.

 **707:** it’s the only one I have, after all this

 **707:** LOLOLOLOLOLOL

 **707:** B^)

 **707:** bye bye ~

“…Hyung.” Saeran walked out of the kitchen, tucking his phone from one hand into his pocket and lowering a mug of hot tea to Saeyoung’s in the other. “Please drink this and rest. We’ll all be here when you wake up.”

Everyone proceeded to nod in agreement while Zen added, “Yeah, and while we may not be here physically, we’ll definitely come running back for you.” He added a wink for extra measure before shuddering in mild disgust and affirming that he would _never_ do that for any one of them, ever, again.

Jaehee pulled out her phone in hopes that he would at least repeat the phrase for her to record on her phone and Jumin took one small step away from him in mock shock that he even did it in the first place. Yoosung sprang up in front of Zen and bombarded him alongside Jaehee to repeat himself.

Saeyoung laughed, a genuine, chest-rumbling laugh that left him coughing faintly as tears welled up and he had to brush them away. “Ah, you guys are so funny. Oh man…I haven’t laughed this hard in…forever.”

Saeran bent down to hug his brother gently, minding the mug now wrapped between his palms. “Please drink your tea and rest soon.” Saeran smiled at this brother. “It’s what we all ask, since you trust us.”

Saeran pulled away and stepped back, watching his brother take a sip of the drink. He licked his lips. “It tastes different from usual, but its not bad. Are you trying to improve your tea-brewing skills, Saeran?” He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling in that typical Cheshire smile the old Saeyoung would usually deliver. “Shall this brother of yours assist you in brewing or some tea ceremony?”

Everyone smiled at this, at least happy that they could see Saeyoung laugh and smile one more time through this entire ordeal. He continued with his drink as the others had several conversations, merely content to listen to his friends chatter above his position on the floor.

As he finished his drink, Vanderwood came over and put his hand out for Saeyoung to take. “Come now sleeping beauty, now that you’ve finished your tea, it’s time to sleep.” He sneered at Saeyoung, who took his obvious bait and batted his eyelashes back as he daintily placed his hand into Vanderwood’s.

“Oh? So are you my evil fairy or my handsome prince?” He smirked and yanked on Vanderwood’s hand, causing him to come forward and trip into Yoosung, creating a messy pile of groaning bodies.

Jaehee, keen to Saeyoung’s playful nature, was the only one to avoid the people pile along with Saeran, who was nowhere near the heap. She side-stepped a leg and straightened her skirt standing next to the trickster’s younger brother.

“Ahem. Now that we’ve all had our fun, maybe we should let Saeyoung rest.” She looked down at Saeyoung, then at Jumin, who ended up at the bottom of the pile, only his legs visible. “Saeyoung, we’ll be back to visit you after work concludes and you have awoken. Mr. Han, you have an early meeting at 7 tomorrow and I will call Driver Kim to pick us up shortly. Please get ready.”

A muffled grunt could be heard from the bottom of the mound before it entirely shifted and Jumin emerged, standing up and smoothing the wrinkles out of his dress shirt.

“Hey, are you crazy!? God, you could’ve broken my nose. My face is important for my job! There are even women who literally live for my face.” Agitated, Zen brushed off his jacket and glared at Jumin, who merely looked back at Zen with a bored expression.

“The same could be said of myself, other than the fact that I actually have to use more than just my face to work. That and you do realize that _you_ were sitting on _me_?” Sighing, he nodded at Saeyoung who smiled and waved in return as he watched Jumin and Jaehee, bowing and excusing herself, leave to get ready for another day at work.

“You— God…that effin’…!” Zen rolled his eyes and turned to help Yoosung to his feet. “Whatever. Do you need a lift home, Yoosung?”

Yoosung looked at Zen, then turned to look at Saeyoung and smiled, shaking his head. “Nope! Thanks Zen, but I think I’ll stay tonight to help a bit before I go home tomorrow night.”

Zen waved his hand, already turning to head out the door and leave. “I leave it to the three of you to take care of Seven while I work hard then. Seven, you better be cured when I see you next time. I’ll treat you to drinks if you are.”

“PhD. Pepper and Honey Buddha Chips?”

“Yeah, whatever you want, Seven.”

He clapped. “The CCTVs have captured your figure as well as audio of your previous statement. My lawyer may or may not write up a legally binding contract to your statement. I ask that you eagerly await my future decision whichever it may be and continue to keep your promises in the future, Mr. Zen.”

Zen, hunched over from laughter, opened the door to leave before Saeyoung could say anymore. The last thing he heard Saeyoung say before the door closed was “Drive safe, Zen,” as he made a sound of affirmation and readied himself to leave.

Vanderwood, the first to swiftly leave the previous dog pile and flee to the kitchen, now crankily emerged with another hot mug of liquid and handed it to Saeyoung.

“Drink.” Saeyoung handed him the old mug formerly full of tea that was now empty and took the new drink. “When you finish it, go to sleep.”

“Thanks, mom.” He took a sip.

“Whatever.” He made his way back to the kitchen to clean.

Yoosung brought Saeran to Saeyoung and they both stood on either side of him. Visibly bemused, he stared up at the both of them, slowing drinking his still warm beverage.

“We going to bed together, or what?”

Yoosung put his hands on his hips and playfully frowned. “ _You’re_ going to bed, _alone_.”

“Eh? But it’ll be so lonely…keep me company, Yoosung!” Saeyoung pouted in retaliation as he stood, mirth present in his bright golden eyes.

Yoosung pushed the laughing Saeyoung towards his room and bed. “Yeah, yeah. Saeran and I will keep you company until you fall asleep, princess.”

Saeran followed, shaking his head at the mention of a sleepover as they sat down and talked with Saeyoung until he fell asleep shortly after finishing his mug of mysterious solution.

In the kitchen, Vanderwood leaned against the counter and gulped down his own concoction of fluid to keep himself awake, hoping the liquid creation that he made for Saeyoung had put him fast to sleep and kept him so until they could move him. Eyeing the corridor and seeing Saeran and Yoosung exit his room, he could only assume that it did its job.

“Did that troublemaker finally pass out?”

“Yeah, pretty quick! What did you put in that?” Yoosung tilted his head to one side, genuinely curious about the liquefied mixture.

“Government secret, haha. Seriously, it’s better I don’t tell you, I don’t even know if the ingredients are all legal here.” Vanderwood scratched his head. “Anyway, busy yourself for an hour. We’ll move Seven around that time to the place Jumin mentioned. The doctor should be there too so,” he tilted his head back and finished his coffee, “ugh, we can finally get going with this and fix him.”

Saeran poured himself a cup of coffee and offered another to Yoosung, who gratefully accepted.

“Whoa, this is really good…and strong. Is this a trade secret too?” Yoosung mused as he drank his cup.

“Nah. It’s just Arabica, toasted brown sugar, and hot water mixed in a 4:1:2 ratio.”

Yoosung nodded blankly. “Huh.” And took another pre-addiction sip.

“Keeps us awake.” Saeran added, before finishing his cup and washing it in the sink. “Saeyoung really keeps you on your toes in some situations. Even in this condition.”

Also finishing his coffee, Yoosung smiles and places his mug in Saeran’s outstretched hand. “It’s really good, can we bring some to everyone else in the morning?”

Vanderwood points to his French press. “Already working on it.”

“Awesome! I’ll pack some of Seven’s clothes and stuff so we’re ready to leave in an hour!” Yoosung made to leave the kitchen but stopped before exiting. “Ah, is there anything specific I should pack?”

“Nah.” Vanderwood shook his head. “Just some clothes and maybe his laptop so he doesn’t get bored when he wakes up. We…have a few things to burn and take care of before we leave so we’ll see you after the hour…” He looked down at his watch. “So, fourty-seven minutes from now.”

“Sounds good! I think I can pack enough outfits for him in that time…” Yoosung muttered to himself as he walked out, chin in hand and ideas of foolish outfits for Saeyoung once he awoke.

Saeran sighed and turned to face Vanderwood, arms crossed before he spoke. “She took _everything_ she owned. There are maybe two pictures left signifying she was even _real_ and stayed here. What’s left to break or burn?”

“I already spoke to Jumin about the remodel while we’re all away with Seven after the surgery. He has people who’ll watch over the house while they completely revamp it. We’re gonna take the important things only, the rest can be trashed or completely abandoned if it comes down to it. I have a record of his old passwords that I’m going to restore later. Depending on what he remembers coming out of that, we may need solid alibis too.” Rubbing his temples, Vanderwood reaches under the sink cabinets and pulls out an unlabeled spray bottle and shakes it vigorously. “I’m gonna wreck that stupid fucking garden too. Make sure _nothing_ grows in that literal shit anymore except weeds and worms or I’ll burn it a third time.”

* * *

 

“Oh, Taehyun, you’re done?”

“How much longer did you think we could take? It’s been 13 hours.”

“I honestly thought it would take longer, I’m not the doctor, you are.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, we’re done. We all made sure to check his chest and abdominal cavities and make sure nothing was hiding anywhere. He should be fine. Might not wake up for a couple of hours, or some days, all depends.”

“Thanks, Taehyun.”

“I owe you and Agent 707 more than a few favors…so I’m glad I could do this for him.”

Vanderwood shook hands with the doctor before asking what room they would place Saeyoung into.

“Pretty sure it’ll be the first room on the left in the VIP ward. It’s empty today, so it’ll be calm and quiet too.” The door to the operating room opened and several staff members wheeled him down a different hallway up to his room. A surgery assistant whispered to Taehyun before handing him a covered glass jar and walking the direction Saeyoung was taken.

He held the wrapped jar out to Vanderwood, who let the doctor place it into his open palm, the jar about half the size of his hand. “So, we’ve both seen him go through this dumb shit. And though I’ve only seen this once before, the fact that all the flowers he kept throwing up kept _changing_ colors and shit was ridiculous. It’s not textbook, and it’s already a rare disease that we don’t know much about.” He crossed his arms. “You said the last time he vomited this garbage it was a striped carnation, wasn’t it?”

Vanderwood nodded and waited for him to continue. He gestured towards the jar in his hand. “Abracadabra, Agent Vanderwood. Take the cloth off.” Vanderwood looked up at the doctor, his longtime colleague and a known no-nonsense type of guy, and looked back down at his hand and took the small white sheet off the jar and blinked a few times.

“What…is this. Are you kidding me?” Vanderwood was staring at a container _packed full_ of whole cherry blossoms. He brought it closer to his face and turned the bottle slowly, examining it in its entirety. Small, thin _branches_ of cherry blossoms sat squished into the container along with a multitude of full, bloomed blossoms.

“I wish I was joking more than this next part. Oh, younger brother!” Saeran was spotted walking down the hall and flagged over by the physician. He quickly hurried over after seeing them both.

“My brother, is he…?”

“He’s fine for now, I’ll fill you in later. Just pay attention for now.” Vanderwood supplied and Saeran nodded hesitantly, looking between the both of them and scrunched his eyebrows together after seeing the full container of flowers.

Taehyun began again. “Yeah, so…from where I left off. I— We…” He ruffled his hair in frustration and pointed at the jar. “Everything else was too big or small and…we fit as much as we could into that one.” He exhaled sharply and motioned for both of them to follow him to the operating room and stopped them in front of the door.

“Just a quick look from here, okay?” They both nodded at Taehyun as he opened one of the OR doors for them to peer inside. Saeran took a step back, holding his face in his hands before collapsing to the ground. Vanderwood squinted into the bright room and looked towards the tiled floor. The entire room was practically filled with cherry blossom petals and flower stems. Closing the door, Taehyun shook his head and softly patted Saeran’s head. “He’ll be fine. We did everything we could for your brother and we’ll monitor him in shifts until he’s cured and out of the hospital.”

Saeran nodded and slowly got up on his feet as soon as he was able to manage himself. Pushed gently by Vanderwood from behind, he was led to Saeyoung’s recovery room while the others were retrieved and gathered by Taehyun.

* * *

 

“That sounds so ridiculous I don’t even know what to say…” Zen scoffed at the explanation before collapsing into a chair.

“I myself would not believe it if I didn’t see it with my own two eyes.” Jumin stood, arms crossed and tapping a finger on his upper arm.

Yoosung came towards Saeyoung’s motionless body and stood next to Saeran who sat next to Saeyoung and listened to Taehyun’s explanation again from the beginning, supplemented by Vanderwood.

“The only thing that matters is that Saeyoung will recover from this. So all was not for naught, and I would like to believe that we all did what we set out to do.” Jaehee voiced.

Yoosung sniffled and rubbed the sleeve of his button-up over his eyes to dry his tears. “Poor Seven. I’m just…so glad he’s going to be okay…”

Vanderwood nodded and explained that he would be in Saeyoung’s room until he woke up and fully recovered. Jumin ensured that the house remodeling would go smoothly, supervised by Jaehee. Saeran would stay with Vanderwood and Saeyoung until he left—and Yoosung and Zen promised to visit between classes and work whenever they could.

A week and a half went by. The house was completed, all the passwords were reset, and the loose ends of the past were both burnt and secured. Everyone, able to be present this specific day, brought various items to distract themselves in Saeyoung’s large recovery room.

Yoosung held up a deck of cards. “Let’s play poker! I’ve gotten better at it!”

“You’re so dedicated to beating us, aren’t you?” Zen chuckled as he sat down to play.

Jaehee nodded towards the other side of the room. “Saeran and I will watch over Saeyoung for the time being.”

“Ah, you’re really quick at getting out of situations like this, aren’t you, Kang Jaehee.” Vanderwood breathed as he sat down across from Yoosung and yawned.

She shrugged. “You may call it that if you wish. And I suppose I have the experience.” She smiled in Vanderwood’s direction as he frowned back.

“Now all we have to do is wait for Jumin to come back…”

“Ugh, forget about Mr. CEO-in-line, let’s just play without him.” Zen put his hand out and gestured for the deck as Yoosung placed it in his hand. “Now watch, me, the Great Zen, shuffle this deck. No tricks.” Standing he bowed in multiple directions, embellishing his shuffling.

“Oh!” Jaehee daintily pushed up her glasses from her seat near the bed and turned to view Zen’s performance. “This must be for your new role as the magician Hojin in that movie directed by Director Chanwook slated to air in autumn of next year, am I right?” Her eyes sparkled with interest as she dutifully recited Zen’s current works.

Yoosung clamored in the background, both impressed by Zen’s newfound illusionist skills and Jaehee’s constant knowledge in entertainment. And whether Yoosung’s outburst triggered the next series of events is beyond anyone’s guess.

Jumin announced his return just as Saeran jumped out of his chair in excited worry at his brother’s side, scaring Zen into ruining his spring flourish and scattering the entire card deck around him.

“Ah…” Zen tousled his hair in frustration. “What is it?”

Jumin moved quickly across the room over to the foot of Saeyoung’s bed. “Is he…?”

Saeran bobbed his head up and down quickly as Vanderwood also slowly came forward. Yoosung and Zen also sprang up to the bedside when Saeyoung’s heart rate elevated on the monitor before evening out again.

“Hyung!”

“Saeyoung!”

“Seven!”

Saeyoung’s face visibly scrunched and his fingers twitched. Groaning, he tilted his head to the side and opened one eye, earning a glimpse of Saeran before he closed his eyes and moaned, blinded by the sunlight coming from the windows.

“Ngh…b-bright…” Saeran hurriedly turned around to close the curtains, Yoosung quick to grab the other end and close them in the middle.

“I got ‘em! They’re closed, Seven.” Yoosung’s concerned voice carrying over to Saeyoung who chuckled weakly.

“Thanks, I’m going back to sleep…bye guys.”

“Agent Seven-Zero-Seven.”

“…Yes? Madam Vanderwood?”

“Are you aware of why we’re gathered here today?”

“…To witness and celebrate the union between…” He drew out the syllables of the last word.

“Try again, Agent.”

“I’m dead and this is a fever dream, right?”

“Again.”

“Is there an escape option? I would like to use my escape rope. Control, alt, delete, end task.” Saeyoung feebly coughed and moaned again. “Francis.” The single utter of this name caught the attention of everyone in the room.

Eyeing everyone else in the room slowly before making his way closer to Saeyoung and bending down to whisper into his ear, Vanderwood spoke softly into his ear. “Speak, Saeyoung. Everyone important to you is here.” Backing up and leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes and crossed his arms, waiting for Saeyoung to speak.

Everyone kept their eyes on Saeyoung, quietly awaiting his response.

“I…can’t. Remember many things. My memory is fuzzy and…” He opened his eyes to look at Saeran again. “Everything seems different than what I remember.” Saeyoung exhaled. “Have I been in some coma limbo?”

Everyone except Saeyoung who kept his eyes closed looked up to Vanderwood, who stared at Saeyoung, made a face, and nodded, signaling to everyone that they would play off the last three years of his life as a dream for as long as possible and replied to Saeyoung’s question.

“Yes. Not sure how much you remember, but your hacking days are over, and you’ve been squirming around like a worm for quite a while since.”

“Ah, maybe I should just forget about it then.” Saeyoung cleared his throat. “Or I guess, not remember it?”

“Anyway,” Yoosung placed his hands on Saeyoung’s bed. “Welcome back to the world of the living!”

“Yeah, congratulations on your long-awaited recovery, Saeyoung.” Zen patted his leg several times.

“Yeah, I feel…”

“—tired?”

“—like shit?”

“—better?”

Saeyoung laughed and agreed with everyone’s statements on how he currently felt after waking up. His memories were fuzzy and he felt as if he was forgetting something important, yet he felt that this was what he really wanted. That whatever black cloud plaguing his life was finally lifted and he could actually start _living_ again.

There was a small, troubling thought in the back of his mind he tried to shake off, not completely certain to what was causing it. But thinking back to all the things he could remember, things he admitted to remembering after the surgery or not, he felt that not digging up the past was one small concession he could afford to the closest people in his life. While he was curious for his own intentions, they had all made it fairly clear that he had recovered from something that should be left behind in his past where it belonged.

Whether it would stay ancient history left out of his hands, he couldn’t make promises. But he smiled at every single person, thanking them one by one as they all scheduled time to spend with him before he was formally discharged by Taehyun.

* * *

 

Two months after his discharge, Saeyoung had essentially made a near full recovery. His multiple incision wounds had healed and scarred over, leaving him with fresh joke and scare material. He also kept busy with his new digital job, freelancing whatever a client asked for. From small hacking projects to simple web design and coding, he did it all.

The area of their old home, lovingly converted by Jumin and Jaehee with the support of C&R, was transformed into a complete town, the lot of Saeyoung’s own residence specifically turned into an apartment complex. With full trust in his interpersonal skills, Yoosung was given the role of apartment manager and moved into the apartment to landlord the building as well as bum in Saeyoung’s apartment and get a hold of his highly valued Honey Buddha Chips as much as possible.

Everything had settled down and Saeyoung could finally take control of his life. He seemed to have no trouble going through the daily motions and even found time between his virtual jobs to help Yoosung by heckling various tenants out of their late rent with pleasure evident in his honey-colored eyes.

Between this and that, he assisted Vanderwood with heavy labor jobs and Saeran with the housework. Jumin and Jaehee were working hard at C&R International to make up for the minute absence all those months ago with other extensive manufacturing jobs and contracts. Zen was hard at work with his new acting roles and variety show appearances, Saeyoung making definite use of his social media bot to boost ZEN’s image.

Things were progressing smoothly and Saeyoung was simply taking his life day by day. His free time left him to develop various programs and even update the RFA application with more firewalls. He thought life was perfect.

His friends were here for him. His brother was here for him. He made hella money doing odd jobs with the amazing skills he’d honed all those years ago. Even his apartment room door was equipped with a new and improved password keypad—this time in German which particularly irritated Vanderwood when he visited from a floor down or frightened Yoosung when he came to visit or collect his rent.

Only on a bright summer day, when he and his brother went out to shop for a bit, did his typical daily life change in the slightest. Awaiting Jumin’s limo on the curb while idly chatting with Saeran, Saeyoung was nudged from behind which caused him to drop his phone. Profusely apologizing, the blonde-haired female bowed several times before scuttling away hastily while holding onto her sunhat. Scratching his head, he bent down to pick up his phone and dust it off before he heard two distinct notification sounds from his phone.

The first was a quick update from Jumin. _Driver Kim will be arriving to pick up the four of you shortly, please be there and ready in 15 minutes_.

The second gave him cause for alarm. He never heard a second notification from Saeran’s phone, but he had another message in the RFA chatroom. He could pass it off as his phone being damaged during its recent meeting with the concrete, but he never believed in such absolute sounding bullshit. Always remembering to bring his laptop with him during outings, he pulled out a cord from his bag and plugged it into his phone in case there was a need to decrypt or record the chatroom messages.

As he suspected, no new messages were heard or seen on his brother’s phone as he continued to receive messages on his. And so, he opened the chatroom.

 **???** : …Hello…?

 **???** : Can you see this?

 **???** : I’m not really sure what’s going on but this was just downloaded on my phone and

He glanced at Saeran who was watching his screen as well and squinted. Saeran merely looked back at his brother and shrugged, feeling just as bewildered.

“We should…talk this over with everyone tonight. And maybe not go home for a bit.”

“…Agreed. Didn’t I…do something similar to this a long time ago?”

Saeyoung nodded in admittance, slightly unsure why he did, but vaguely remembering someone telling him something similar to this. He locked his phone screen, somehow unwilling to read any more of the stranger’s messages. He rubbed his temples in a circular motion, disturbed by this new development.

“Maybe I shouldn’t answer and just ignore them.”

Saeran nodded, realizing his slip-up a little too late and suggesting even getting a new cell phone or even helping his brother with security or a whole new app altogether. Saeyoung agreed and smiled at Saeran, happy that he’d be able to work on a project together with his younger brother.

Laughing, Saeyoung swung an arm around Saeran and winked with promises of money and potato chips. Saeran slapped his hands away, lecturing him about his eating habits as Yoosung bounced to their side with Vanderwood in tow. Driver Kim finally pulled up as Saeyoung was hiding behind Vanderwood from his brother and Yoosung, now pushing the group towards the limousine until they all piled in.

He grinned at them inside the vehicle before he heard a giggle and turned towards the source. Further away, two girls could be seen chatting. One with long flowing brunette hair, and the other, he noted, was the woman who had bumped into him earlier. He squinted in the sun to see them more clearly but was instead pulled into the vehicle by both Vanderwood and Saeran simultaneously.

Yoosung recognized the look on their faces and decided to help and insist that they would be late and that Jumin would not be happy with them. Saeran decided to continue his lecture from previous with the help of Vanderwood this time as the car door was closed and they were taken to their meeting place.

Saeran glanced back at the two girls Saeyoung was looking at for a short second, recognizing them immediately. He refused to subject his brother to anything extreme, not after what they’d both been through. He signaled to Vanderwood that they would discuss it later and continued to hold onto Saeyoung.

“Saeyoung…” Saeyoung looked at his brother and tilted his head with a grunt of acknowledgment. “You…trust me, right?”

He nodded and placed his hand over Saeran’s. “With my life, I think it was.”

“Good. I plan to protect it. So make sure you listen to all of us, okay?”

He chuckled and ruffled his younger brother’s bangs. “I’ll do my best, how’s that?”

“Not good enough, but I’ll take it for now.”

**Author's Note:**

> This actually became WAY longer than I originally planned / expected but i'm actually both amazed and proud that i finished it. there's a lot of things that hang in the air as " what ifs " in this story just to add to the mystery and let everyone kind of make it their own on what happened in between and stuff. :^) i realized at one point that Van & Saeran sound like a realass couple & they're literally 707's parents in this and it was the best mistake honestly. i almost added a whole nother section to the story b/c i wanted Jumin to one up Zen with a good joke, BUT I WAS GOOD and i didnt so, be glad omg.  
> also i literally researched EVERYthing in this fic from flower parts to card tricks and the only thing that wasnt referenced was Vanderwood's coffee recipe so please love yourself and know that's at your own risk cause i have no idea if that'll be any good but if u make it--i wanna know.  
> anyway i hope to write something again soon !! its been a while but i really wanted to see this one to fruition for some reason.


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